Fonzie first episode scenes - Happy Days 

Completely agree!

I agree, also I ALWAYS believed that the Fonze should NEVER be smiling...

The first two years were gold

SAG rules meant they had to pay you more for scenes in which you had a speaking role. I think they filmed the first few scenes without him speaking, liked what they saw in the rushes, and decided to give him a couple of lines at the of the episode. They were saving a few bucks and this inadvertently made him look cooler. LOL.

It got really, really bad when the live audience would bust out in thunderous applause when Fonzie appeared. Cast had to wait for applause to subside before anybody could speak dialogue. On the other side, the canned audience here has been used to death. The Pink Panther Show on Saturday morning cartoons used exactly this laugh track.

15 years from 59 to 74. It’s so crazy.

Jesus Im old

and Chelsy Clinton is 44 years old.

Dude. You just scared me, real bad.

Oldies on the radio were like 10 years old!

Milwaukee? And Fonzie didn't ride a Harley?

The series was set in Milwaukee (but shot on a back lot in LA and you can just make out the mountains in that first clip.) In season 1, Fonzie rode a 1947 Harley-Davidson Knucklehead. Other seasons used different bikes such as a Triumph Bonneville and a 1949 Triumph Trophy TR5 Scrambler Custom.

Lol 😂

When Fonzie jumped the shark

You are so right

Season one was a lot of outdoor shots. They found their groove after that up until the last two seasons or so. Overall, it's still a good show even with some of the mistakes later on (like having an alien compete with Fonzi - Mork from Ork).

In the early parts of the show's run, the actors had real 1950's hairdos, the decade the show takes place.

As soon as it was filmed before a live audience it took a nose-dive. The early ones were classic.

That’s right. There was some good messaging in there. ✨

He respected the entire Cunningham family, natch. Some of the best gags were Marion/Howard/Joanie telling Fonz to sit on it. Almost cringey-quaint by 2024 standards, but worked really well in the Age Of Sitcom Catchphrases. Especially if you were (as I was then) a kid. tangentially... DY NO MITE

@@EconAtheist My parents didn't let me watch Happy Days the first year because of the subject matter and the "Sit on it"; they never liked the latter.

she got on the bike and her long red dress got caught in the wheels and ripped off. oh wait, this isnt benny hill. never mind. i thought it was a funny show.

With a sweet Roy Orbison tattoo on his ass!

😂😂😂😂😂

Yeah, but he made Bobby look like a cheater! Not nice, no matter how much the other coaches make you fake talk to your mother in high heels

Water sucks it really really sucks! Gatorade, Gatorade

was probably shot like and made to emulate “American Grafitti” frankly.

I was glad when they got rid of the laugh track and started filming before a live studio audience. It got a little dumb in the last few seasons on occasion, like when Fonzi competes with Mork from Ork, but overall an outstanding series IMO.

Season 3 for me was the pinnacle. Fonzi was more likable but still had the edge, it wasn't super silly yet, and still felt very 1950s. By the latter season, it felt like every other sitcom in a bad way. I get why people like season 1 the best, but for me, it was a bit too serious if that makes sense.@@JustWasted3HoursHere

@@mattm7798I need to rewatch the series some day. It has literally been decades. Some other shows too that I loved, like "Little House on the Prairie" and "Quantum Leap" (except the finale: Boo!)

The first season episodes were shot using a single camera and no live audience. They used a laughing track on every episode.

@lotsaringwear2937: I want you to join the Happy Days Purist Society.

Yep, that's true. Check out 1981's 'Night Shift,' directed by Ron Howard himself, Henry is back to his own quiet self just like he was during H. Days 1st season as Fonzie.

Fonzie was hoping to smash.

They did, but they didn't "do anything", she just liked to go out and have fun (but not too much fun).

yup. not the best messaging here regarding women

She gave good headache

Even Ricky Nelson had a go.

I want you as a member of the happy Day Purist Society

They certainly did morph all of the characters into good two shoes.

But Ralph Malph evolved well 👍

Actually they had a Happy Days cartoon and he was in it.

@@Spillers72 Ralph Malph?

Makes me laugh every time - that was a genius improv

He had just played a JD greaser in Lords of Flatbush (with Sylvester Stallone) which hadn't released yet. He was offered a similar supporting part as Gary Marshall was reworking Love and the Television (Love and the Happy Days) into an American Graffiti clone. He needed three good schoolboys and one hot rodder James Dean type. So Ralph Malph and Fonzie were added, the show was mover to 1955 (rock era begins) and relocated to be Milwaukee instead or Brooklyn. Winkler took the role but said he just didn't want to be combing his hair in every other scene as that had been a cliche for two decades. His take here was an improv mild protest. Jerry Paris loved it and kept the take. It defined the character as a confident man amongst boys.

Henry Winkler is dyslexic. He couldn't read; therefore couldn't memorize his lines. He didn't know the script, so he winged it and he did great. The first time he auditioned, he went in, combed back his hair and said one word...."hey". He got the part.

@@Ninjanimegamer I love the behind the scenes stuff. Really adds depth. I didn't know he was dyslexic. Cool to know.

He didn't know he was dyslexic either, until it was discovered that his stepson had it. Then it twigged: "That sounds like me!" There wasn't a name for it back when Henry was young. Even his own parents called him dumb. How sad is that?

Haha yeah, timeline wise it should have been the late 60s by the time the show ended.

The pinball machine in Arnold's was a 1973 Bally "Nip-It." How's *that* for time travel?

The Happy is gone today now it’s angry blue hair woke nuts

@@user-cx7ss2rf5p Well.....1966. More MID 60s... If the timeline is "true" - season for season... Historically, I'm guessing it wasn't...too much work to prove it right or wrong...

And Suzie Quatro doing a modern song that was supposed to be in the late 50's or early 60's. Although _Devil's Gate Drive_ is an excellent song.

If you watched the video, you'd know it wasn't Fonzie's first line....but it IS a classic!!

Truth. Look at Chachi/Scott Baio, long haired.

@@ncasti exactly

Yeah, especially when they did Joni loves Chachi show that was totally 80s clothing and hair. It was just ridiculous. They didn’t even try to hide it.

Yeah, and that was annoying.

@@billycloudy9078 that’s true I had forgotten about that

Paramount is into the gimmicky route, but Marshal has already done the same for The Odd Couple, that started as a fairly faithful TV adaptation of the play/movie and morphed into a pop culture fad and gimmick of the week show after a season and a half just like HD. Paramount is doing the same with their current streaming shows. Started out serious then turn goofy camp. However even this was not just Gary Marshals true original vision of a family sitcom in 1952 in Brooklyn with two teen boys coming of age. It got retooled after American Graffiti incredible success the year between the two pilots. This 2nd pilot, written by Rob Reiner incorporates the Drive In (originally it was the soda shop you see in BTTF), the car culture, 1955 so they could open with Rock Around the Clock and have rock classics playing all the time, incorporated a 20 something 17 year old tough guy mechanic/lady killer and a goofy 2nd friend like Toad. Richie and Postie were basically Ron Howard and Richard Dryfuss so that was why ABC and Paramount gave him a second chance. I guess when you start out writing for Carl Reiner sitcoms you learn to adapt.

@@STho205 Marshall actually wanted to do a show about a family in the 1920s, if you can believe that. Yes, Marshall's experience with the Dick Van Dyke Show helped him in those later Happy Days years with the Borscht Belt humor and the "let's put on a show" in our living room. The Happy Days Purist Society will never bend a knee to the Fonzie years at Happy Days. We believe in Seasons 1 & 2 and that's it. By the way, your Odd Couple reference is interesting. The fact that Marshall got away from the movie after Season 1, is what made the OC far funny and more enjoyable to watch. Yes, the Paramount suits and ABC suits loved the "stars" who appeared each week as a friend of either Felix and Oscar. But if you recall that was a hallmark of ABC during that decade.

@@edwardcricchio6106 Happy Days would not have made it out of the 2nd or 3rd season without Fonz. Fonz was an accidental phenomenon and they knew it. I was 14 or so in 75 and every guy wanted to be The Fonz or have him as a big brother. I like the first half season and the full 2nd. 3rd was hit or miss for me as a nostalgia show since it was becoming That 70s Show....but for most people that's when it got their interest. Dang thing was on for 10 years through Evil Kineval stunts, shark jumps, alien visitation (GM wrote that into DvDyke too as dreams or mistaken observations making their most popular episodes), karate fights, ballet, ballroom dancing, two Scrappy Doos, Pinky Tuscadaro, Ritchie quitting..... And still had strong audiences. GM, his producers, Jerry Paris and the suits at Paramount and ABC must have known the audience. They did similar stuff with Laverne and Shirley which started out just trying to do Lucy and Ethel antics of two single working girls. It went on a similar trajectory.

@@STho205 I'm a couple of years older than you so I lived it just like you did. I know full well the show would have been cancelled had the Fonzie character not been bumped up to co-starring with Ron Howard. But in many ways, what they did to the show to a purist like me, hurt more than had they cancelled it. Actually, 1975 was a perfect time for ABC to make the switch because that was the time when TV took the turn into the "breakout star" especially ABC which had always been the 3rd network in the ratings. Travolta comes to mind along with Winkler, Suzanne Somers and I'm sure there were others but I just can't remember the ABC shows at that time. I'm kind of spit balling here, but I'm kind of feeling you aren't a member of the Happy Days Purist Society.

@@edwardcricchio6106 Do you think the Happy Days Purist Society will accept me and my love for The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang? I'll be happy to sit around with you all discussing Mr Cool.

I thought I was the only one

Yeah ok goober ... sure it was stuck in your head for 40 years. More like a dunce cap stuck on your head for 40 years and still increasing

@@tymz-r-achangin sorry your life is so miserable that you need to try to insult someone over a post on a Fonzie episode.

@@jamespgray6928 Its sad that the truth hurt your feelings. Grow up, buttercup.

@@jamespgray6928 Me too. When I saw the title of this video, I immediately wondered if that line would be here, and I wasn’t disappointed. I remembered that it was early in the series, but I didn’t remember for sure that was in the first episode. So I wasn’t sure if it would be here or not.

Yep they change the name of it . they kept the big red a on the roof

They went to a fake building on a back lot after this episode

*it was Fonz restaurant before he sold it!*

Good catch

Arthur was the previous owner.

She and Ron Howard were on a TV Guide cover--as if she was a recurring character.

And the era they reference on the show was almost 70 years ago.

If they did Happy Days today the first season would be set in 2006

American Graffiti, which started the whole nostalgia craze that spawned Happy Days, was made only ten years after the time it depicted. So much had changed in the culture during those ten years, it seemed like another world to kids who were too young to remember it.

@@olsongl I suppose things have changed a lot since the 1970s, but it doesn't feel like it. From the 1950s to the 1970s, big time change.

@@Rick_King Agreed. There's been especially little cultural change over the last 30 years. A person from today would fit right in in 1994.

You got any more stories about those kids from France

@@mvejar1970 Lots

​@@torreyintahoeI want to hear more! Do you know what they are doing now?

Aaaaaah!

@@davefout5548: Ooh-la-la! Translate to English

No you didn't .

@@jonhohensee3258 I assure I did. While at my grandma's house as a kid it was guiding light, love boat, fantasy island, happy days, laver and Shirley, etc. at home Dallas, falcon crest, dynasty etc. I'm 52 tomorrow.

@@anneliesevoelker2502 sure

​@@anneliesevoelker2502I'm surprised you forgot The Six Million Dollar Man, but I'm 58 and Happy Days lasted alot longer

I'd clean my whole house for a kiss from her. Gotta be a good, long one, though.

They all are. All his friends except Fonzie.

I liked Veronica best

Naming the school Riverdale instead of Jefferson would have given it away.

Hard now to imagine anyone but Winkler.

He always looked small to me. But I viewed the show like a cartoon, which it was really.

Mickey Dolenz of The Monkees auditioned and was a finalist for the role.

On a loop? You know there are plenty of quality movies and shows that you could be watching instead?

That may be but if you have to understand that ratings for the show were sagging in the second half of season 2 and that is why they made the changes making Fonzie one of the main characters. the show's rating IMMEDIATELY went thru the roof.

Happy Days was always shot on film. It looks more cinematic with the scenes shot outside.

_Happy Days_ was *always* filmed, never videotaped. The first season it was shot so-called ‘film style’, with only one camera and no overlapped scenes, every edit was done in post. And no studio audience (it had a very obvious laugh track). Nearly every TV show was done this way until the 70s. The second season and later it was shot what’s called ‘Desi style’ named after Desi Arnez for pioneering it on _I Love Lucy._ It was filmed with three cameras on a sound stage with a live audience. This was more expensive as it used a lot more film but gave the creators much more flexibility when editing. It also allowed for real laughter from a studio audience. Because of the expense it didn’t become popular until the 1970s.

In the early part of the show's run, the actors had real 1950's hairdos, the decade it takes place and not 1970's like with men having hair over their ears in the later years of the run of this show.

Why did they change the format after the first two years?

@@MikeCee7 because ABC said the show was going to be cancelled. So Garry Marshall sold his soul and revamped the original intention of the show. They made Fonzie the center of the show because their research showed audiences liked the character. Marshall compromised his principles and the show was never the same to us Purists.

He did later own it.

It changed cause some G ook bought it.

They changed it in the 1st regular episode of the series. The sign on the interior set says "Under New Management". The drive in was dressed for another movie when they filmed this second pilot....but they kept the rotating A. Ironic when you get to the season where Fonz invests as a partner for Al to rebuild the diner and wants to make it after himself. They could have just called it Arthur's.

This may be one of the few times they used the actual outside drive-in. Often the outside of Arnold's was a soundstage and studio set, especially after S2. This particular episode is the most beautifully filmed and music scored of the entire series. They were trying to replicate American Graffiti to catch an audience. When he says "Going all the Way" and Ralph hits his head...that night pan up and music lift at the drive-in was motion picture grade.

I wouldn't be surprised if the lawyers of Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips had a say in that.

I absolutely agree with you! 👍 I loved those first two seasons when the show was not taped before a live audience but was done on film. It had a more nostalgic feel that way. I thought the show rocked when Ritchie and Potsie were the focus. So often, people think more is better, but like you said, the less of Fonzie, the better. Not because he was a weak character -- Henry Winkler, for sure, did an outstanding job of portraying what he thought Fonzie should be like -- but because you looked forward to those small appearances of him from time to time. After those first two seasons, however, yeah, Fonzie became this cartoonish super hero, and the show lost its appeal for me. 😥

so you are saying he jumped the shark after the 2nd season?

@@dontgiveinfo in my humble opinion, yes. After the second season they were also restricted to filming in front of a studio audience as well. No more outdoors. Everything was a set. Yes Fonzie jumped the shark before he jumped the shark.

@@kaztouch1 That may be but if you have to understand that ratings for the show were sagging in the second half of season 2 and that is why they made the changes making Fonzie one of the main characters. the show's rating IMMEDIATELY went thru the roof.

After the 2000's each decade of the past became a cliche parody and everything just got rehashed from there. 1999 is when humanity jumped the shark.

At first he could only wear the leather jacket on/near his motorcycle because of its association with hoodlums.

@@tech9803that’s interesting yeah the seventies had a lot of that.

@@tech9803 Yep. That's why he would often bring the motorcycle indoors...

Like MASH, was only good for 3 years.

That may be but if you have to understand that ratings for the show were sagging in the second half of season 2 and that is why they made the changes making Fonzie one of the main characters. the show's rating IMMEDIATELY went thru the roof.

its when tv was everything

No it wasn't. Good old days fallacy strikes again!

@@nap871 Now is always better than the "good old days" cherished by nostalgia freaks. For the record, I am 66 and prefer the modern world over the past.

Everything was so swell back then, we didn't all hate each other. Not like now. Sad.

0:46 Looks straight down the barrel of the camera.

i looked her up. Geez mortality is a bitch. That person is now just an oxidising plaque on the ground, already been dead over 13 years. Not saying her experience is unique, but fuk man i try not to think about it and sometimes is so stark , that once a vivacious loving person is now a goddamn patch of grass. Coming to terms with death?? i dont think i ever will. Is it truly possible or just compartmentalization? get that shite out of my head.

I just looked her up and sadly she passed away in 2010. Her look was true to the period but certainly out of date today, but I think she was beautiful.

This clip is a Harley knucklehead. Not a trumpet

@@scottwall4669 yes, with forks that didn't come out until the sixties, and a tank from an even later sportster. Like I said, the Triumph he rides in most of the series is a period perfect TR5 Trophy.

@@MrBradfordchild Same bike that Steve McQueen rode in "The Great Escape", or so I've read.

​@@MrBradfordchild yep those forks stick out like dogs balls

@@patrickmorgan4006 I’m pretty sure it was a 60s triumph in the Great Escape. He rode a 65 in the ISDT. But yeah, very similar.

That may be but if you have to understand that ratings for the show were sagging in the second half of season 2 and that is why they made the changes making Fonzie one of the main characters. the show's rating IMMEDIATELY went thru the roof.

"Jumped the shark"

@RetiredVDI Fonzie also wore the windbreaker instead of his leather jacket in the early episodes because ABC thought veiwers would associate it with him being in a gang LOL! 🧛🏍👍👍

For you young ins, the DA stands for, Ducks azz...

Imagine producer's with ethics and morals, those were Happy Day's....

Spelling Gaffe aside Fozie’s Happy days would have been the Muppet Show on at 7pm before Happy Days. 😅

wocka wocka wocka@@johnkruton9708

He looked 30

Anson Williams looks like a kid. Kinda wild he went on to direct episodes of Star Trek.

Yes. I watched that episode when it first aired.

@@patrickmorgan4006 it was on You Tube for a while but has since been deleted. I guess rights and all that stuff were not granted.

Remember seeing the first episode watching "Love American Style" with my mom so long ago...R I.P. mom.....did you know the Cowsills sang the Love American Style song?

@@halseyknox That first aired February 25, 1972. The Cowsills sang the song the first season only. They used a studio group (the same voices used for the Partridge Family) the rest of the series run.

I believe it was called what the show would become ''Love and The Happy Days''

Right before Welcome Back Kotter.

Correct. The leather idea was finally "sold" to the producers as a safety item for a bike rider, arguing it made him more responsible...but only in brown.

The Fonz was 29 while playing a kid in highschool.

That was a "Fallstaff" jacket, at least that's what the kids called it. Or "Fall" for short.

​@@tomcostello8220I thought The Fonz character was supposed to be about 20.

And the leather jacket is now an exibit in the Smithsonian.

He did know how to water ski, however.

The first time he wrecked on a bike. The crew ran over to check the motorcycle because it was a rental.

@@darrellhall6622😂 OMG!! Is the bike okay?!

the opening sequence showed him riding one (?)

@@alan933 Yes. Very brief and at quite a low speed. That particular shot was the best they could get out of him. Most of his rides were even slower than that.

that was [somewhat] explained in a later episode. When Richie had to fight a bad dude. Fonzie said there was one thing he forgot to tell him for people to respect you. You had to have punched out a bad dude at one time in the past. ha.

It sucked after the first couple of seasons.

yep, my dad loved the 1st couple of seasons, reminded him of his teenage years

@dhaley8847 That's true but for a kid like me who didn't know the difference, the seasons that followed served as a very happy memory of my, otherwise, traumatic & abusive childhood. Therefore, I would ask you; did what you perceive as a loss, actually, serve as a gain?🤔😎

Agree! I liked Fonzie better as more mysterious and not such a larger than life, god-like character. I also liked Ritchie and Potsie being best friends, instead of everyone bagging on Potsie all the time.

@@bbo40 My mom too.

That’s every TV show, and piece of media.

'47 Knucklehead. Nice ride

I noticed that too, bad ass bike then they put him on a triumph. Because the Harley looked like a gangster bike!

Nope...not exactly. The original "pilot" was shot COMPLETELY with Susan Neher. Her scenes were not "reshot with Erin Moran". That's what aired on LAS. Did you also happen to notice that Howard and Chuck are now played by completely different actors???

@@bradyguy7701 The one I mentioned is indeed the original pilot that was filmed after the series was picked up by ABC. Here’s a comparison video which confirms my comment about their being 2 pilots filmed ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HM2Ahs7ePuY.htmlsi=xAtbKAbFaVlKOzBG

@@justinturley7071 Thanks. I spent an hour on that site. Good stuff.

How about the time he jumped the shark. That meme is still going.

I remember the episode with Nelson Mandela's funeral. That was the best!

Yes, isn't that silly? And now it's in an exibit in the Smithsonian......

Not really. Leather jackets and motorcycles were big parts of '50s gangs, so the film language would have said that Fonzie was an antagonist regardless of his behavior. That's a valid concern for a network. The fight to have the Fonz earn his leather jacket was necessary until he was well established.

We ALL know about Dolenz. I've never seen ANY evidence that Nesmith ever auditioned to play Fonzie... Also...Nesmith was NOT an actor and didn't really like doing it.... Seems unlikely. References??

@@bradyguy7701 ... I couldn't tell you the original source but it's all over the place now, including IMDB. Supposedly Nez said it himself in an interview once but I can't find it. I know he was primarily a musician and songwriter but he was a fair actor too. The Monkees had very few serious scenes but when they did Mike was front and center. In the early 70's his solo career was stalled and he lost most of his money to the IRS so it's not that much of a stretch that he would try to get acting jobs for the income

they were filmed in Georgia --- then when back to LA and cut corners

Yes! The DoH episodes filmed in Covington-Conyers Georgia were the best. I remember watching the show when it debuted. It was on at 9PM after Dallas on Friday night. Dukes had a late time slot because it was considered a bit edgy at the time. That "edginess" was what makes the first episodes so good. Young John Schneider and Tom Wopat weren't yet comfortable in the roles, but Denver Pyle, Sorrell Booke, and James Best were SPOT on! Boss Hogg telling Roscoe (about his re-election campaign), "If you were running unopposed, you'd still come in second" was the kind of banter one would actually hear in the south.

Same with the early 90 minute episodes of The Six Million Dollar Man. They were only aired once a month, so there was a much higher production value. When it went weekly, the quality dropped.

Most tv shows are good for about 3 seasons, after that they lose there way.

Wasn't Fonz the same age as the rest of the gang?

@@GiacomoSorbi No, Fonzie dropped out of school and he was a bit older but by how much I am not sure.

Relax. He was 19.

Oops...except Starsky and Hutch first aired over a year later....

@@bradyguy7701 That’s why I said around that time. I was in middle school, and “Welcome Back, Kotter” was appearing as well. So did “The Six-Million Dollar Man”. I don’t keep up with history of TV, I’ve got better things to do. I just recall some of the TV shows in those days. No cable. No satellite. No premium service channels. So if “Starsky & Hutch” came out a year later, so what? Oops.

I remember using my tape recorded to get some of the audio because my mom liked that music. It was the poker game episode.

Back when it was....META???

He doesn’t need a leather jacket. He’s riding a rigid frame Knucklehead. So cool ! Triumphs and Hondas aren’t even in the same league.

@@ordinaryman1904 funnily enough. a knuckle head was a 20 year old bike when this is set, and the little alloy 500cc triumph he rides later would have been new, and the go fast bike to have for a "Fonzie".

@@MrBradfordchild the bike could have been as new as 1947. And it was already customized, running a peanut tank and glide front end. The Fonz was shown polishing the rear axle, and stated he cleaned the whole bike before a date. Indicating the bike was well cared for. Other than a desire of the writers to move his character in a different direction, there would have been no reason for The Fonz to ditch his Harley in favor of a Limey, and later, a Honda.

Fonz wasnt allowed to wear the leather jacket at first. Then it was changed to, he could only wear the leather jacket if his bike was in the same scene as he was. Then they dropped all the executive meddling and made the jacket part of his costume. This tan windbreaker reappears in the first episode of the final season called "Because its There" where Fonzie loses his confidence over failing to ride some challenging uphill road. He briefly trades his leather jacket back to this tan windbreaker.

Well...actually 1974. But shot in 1973... 😁😁

Understandable, but the change in bike was necessary. Given how short Henry was, he couldn't touch the ground while on the Harley. The change from '50s to '70s, however, I can't forgive.

If not her kitty, then it doesn't really matter.

Yet he did al the waterskiing except the infamous jump.

Plenty! A buncha girls don't care.

Maybe he was only short in height....

Hey, I'm 5" 5' and...yeah you're right...

Leather jacket and a Harley was a no no for the producers. They had to have Fonzie on a Triumph to wear the leather

Fun fact, the producers changed their minds and said he could have the leather jacket on the motorbike, so they started having him on the motorbike to they changed their minds.

@@johng416 I've read the same thing over the years. The ABC executives were worried about the "Gang" connection with the Knucklehead. So Fonz was on a Knuck but couldn't wear a Schott's leather jacket. Henry Winkler had a phobia about bikes so they went with the Triumph so he could move it around easier, so ABC let them pull a Brando and put Fonz in a leather coat.

Holy crap. I went back and paused it and you are right. Wow even though he looked young you can tell it is unmistakably him. And that look he gave kinda set the tone of the characters he would play all of his career.

I've looked but never really seen anything about the Knuck. Don't know who built it or owned it. The Triumph seems to have about 20 people claiming they have the "real" Fonz bike. From what I have gathered there were 2 Triumphs built for the show. I would love to ride the Knuckle.